To Be Yourself
by AmateraSWAG
Summary: Sometimes the angst of the world becomes too much to handle... alone, that is... Through the eyes of a teenage boy; discover what it takes in order to overcome your miseries, and to mature... and most importantly, to become yourself. Because sometimes, the question is not "Finding out what it takes to find out who you are," but rather, "Who it takes to find out who you are..."


**Hello FanFiction! My name is **_**AmateraSWAG, **_**and I'm coming at you with my third entry for this site! This story for me really means a lot, because it has a duel meaning… It not only poses as entertainment, but as a weird, cute, philosophical lecture of sorts. It's based around the concept of discovering yourself, and doing not what makes others accept you, but what makes **_**you**_** happy. Alot of you are probably going through a confusing time in your life; trying to decide who you are and all… and some of you are probably unhappy with what you think you might be turning into with adulthood nearing so closely, **_**and that's if you aren't an adult already…**_** But anyways, this story tells the tale of how an **_**unusual**_** pair are trying to cope with loneliness, and the struggles of coming to age. They fight, they argue, and they debate, but they remain there for each other through and through. So without further ado; my name is **_**AmateraSWAG, **_**and this is **_**To Find Yourself. **_**I hope you enjoy…**

**Oh yeah, the disclaimer stuff… I don't own Pokemon, only the original characters that I've crafted through Game Freak's genius.**

What does maturity mean to you?

Do you view maturity as a form of growth? A _simple_ word that describes the aspect of becoming an adult? A slow process that entails your physical body becoming larger and more powerful? If so, you're missing the big picture. The idea of maturity doesn't just mean to grow, and to become an adult, but rather to become _yourself_.

Countless people throughout time have given forth endless amounts of effort during their youth to discover just who they might be. Who they are. Why they were born. What they were meant to do. What were they meant to become. All of these questions go through every living beings mind _at least _once. And rightfully so! If you don't ponder your own existence, and who _you_ are, then you're either incredibly stupid… or you're an android.

As cheesy as that may or may not sound… it's true, and you know it.

Now, you might be thinking something along the lines of who _I_ am. And why on earth I'm giving you this dumb philosophical lecture. These questions are valid, and rightfully so; because who on Earth wants to listen to some _absolutely random_ person giving them a lesson on life? I sure as hell wouldn't. So I guess I should start explaining myself, and just _why_ I'm introducing myself in such a bizarre manner.

My name is Lincoln. But everyone that's met me knows of my flaming hatred for the name, and calls me Link instead. And no; don't relate me to the green, hyrulian hero that played a part in every child born in either the 19th or 20th century's life. I'm my own Link, and I don't enjoy wearing tights _OR_ smashing pots in my free time.

So, now that we've relinquished one of your questions… sort of, we can move right on to answering your next one. But for me to do that, I'll have to show you how I came to discovering myself, and what I truly believe allowed _me_ to mature into the person that I am today. Or who, rather…

**...**

Small yet brilliant rays of sunlight shone through the partings of trees on to the leaves covering the forest floor that crackled gently below my feet with every step. A cool, soothing breeze swept my eye length blonde hair from my face, and lightly battered my cheeks. The forest was particularly quiet today; aside from the almost mute sound of crisp leaves, I was surrounded by complete silence. No bird Pokemon were communicating with their usual chatter. No ground dwellers scavenging for food. Only complete, _isolated_ silence… I wasn't entirely certain whether it was simply because I was released from my school particularly early today, and that I might have just been passing through on my way home before the local Pokemon were active, or if it was something else... It wasn't like Winter was nearing, and everyone had taken shelter, so I guess I could narrow down my options considering it was April.

_Either way, the eerie silence was beginning to affect me. _

My pace increased slightly, and I could have sworn that I had heard a quiet rustling noise emanating from just above me as I walked. At this point, my nervousness was becoming visible; I began to sweat, and I started to accelerate even faster to the point where I was in the midst of a light jog. Unfortunately, the previously quiet rustling noise from the trees above me had begun to get increasingly louder as well. I was too terrified to even dare glance upwards… _I was being followed._

No longer having any second thoughts, I burst into a sprint in an attempt to clear the overhanging trees, and return home as fast as my thirteen year old legs could carry me. Everything became a blur. The trees, undergrowth, even the ground simply appeared to melt behind me as I dashed through the greenery.

Suddenly, an incredibly strong vine of some kind found its way around my ankle; sending me face first into the grass faster than I could blink. Within in instant of basically punching the earth with my face, an intense pain burrowed into my nervous system. The source? None other than my nose.

I didn't doubt for a second that the cartilage was most likely shattered, but I wasn't given much time to contemplate it before I was lifted off the ground by whatever had a grip on my ankle. By the time I opened my eyes, I mere inches away from the face of what looked like a very angry, _very hungry Serperior._

The gigantic snake Pokemon simply stared accusingly at me without making a sound or moving a muscle, and at this point I couldn't quite tell what it was thinking anymore. I simply dangled helplessly from its grip as blood rushed to my head from being suspended upside-down.

Suddenly the Serperior's cold, slitted eyes narrowed, and a menacing hiss filled my eardrums.

"Child… What are you doing in _my_ foressst? Are you not intelligent enough to sssee that no other humansss or Pokemon are _brave enough_ to venture here during my feeding time?"

I sat in astonishment for a moment as I attempted to process just _how _the grass type had spoken to me; and more importantly, what it had said to me. By the time I had allowed the gears in my brain to begin turning, the only words I were able to force out of my larynx were, "_Feeding time?!"_

"Ah... you sssee… about that. It'sss been quite sssome time sssince I've fed, and I can't ssseem to find anything elssse that suits my needsss… Ssso you'll have to sssufice; _no harsssh feelingsss…_" With that, the snake began to open it's astonishingly large maw, only to receive a sudden blast of scorching flames to the gullet from an unknown force that seemed to come from directly behind me. Apparently, the Pokemon was just as shocked as I was, because it immediately released its grip around my ankle, causing me to plummet back down to the forest floor and land on my upper back as it yelled out in agony.

It wasn't the only one though, because I too was screaming in pain from _not only_ being dropped on my spine from a good seven feet in the air, but also from the intense throb coming from my broken nose that was now spewing blood. Probably from having so much rushing to my head that quickly after injuring it. Either way, with the unholy combination of _both_ of my new wounds, I began to go drift away from consciousness.

Immediately before passing out, I managed to catch a glimpse of a small orange blur expelling vast amounts of bright, intense flames at what I could only assume was the Serperior. Then, my vision was clouded by a soothing blackness.

…

As I awoke, my eyes were immediately infiltrated by the light of a small, yet brightly burning fire. I noticed that I was leaned up against the base of that I assumed to be a tree, and that night had miraculously already fallen already, considering that the fire was the only source of noticeable light.

The next thing that caught my eye was the small, vulpine creature sitting just adjacent of the fire from me. Its thick, orange fur was illuminated by the relaxing campfire, and I instantly realized the creature to be a Vulpix. "_It was probably the one who attacked that Serperior…_" I thought to myself.

The Pokemon instantly took notice of my awakening, and propped itself up on its front legs.

"Hmm... Finally awake, are you? Good, I can leave now." The obviously female fox announced, catching me by surprise.

"You can talk too?! Wow… this has been a weird day…" I replied anxiously. Without responding, the small Pokemon lifted itself fully off the ground, and began to quietly trot away.

"Wait!" I shouted; this caused the vulpine fire type to stop, and again face me. "You're just going to leave? I haven't gotten' to talk to you yet..."

The Pokemon sat back down with a sigh of exasperation. "What would you need to talk to me about? Shouldn't you return to your family or something; because has been some time since you were awake." She responded with a bit of annoyance. After hearing her speak again, I came to the conclusion that she was probably not very old. Maybe slightly older than myself; but that was obviously no indication of her experience.

"Well, I'm pretty sure that you were the one that saved me earlier, and I haven't gotten' to thank you yet; and about that, Miss… I don't have any parents, so I don't really need to worry about getting home right away." I informed her truthfully.

The Vulpix frowned, but momentarily before allowing her face to return to its normal, calm state. "Why don't you have any parents? _Everyone _has parents." She stated in a somewhat blunt manor.

"Well..." I began. Before I could begin to form more words, I was halted by an influx of tears beginning to drain from my eyes. "T-They've both been d-dead for two years n-now..."

I couldn't sworn that the Pokemon wore an expression of sympathy as I explained, but it was quickly overcome by angst. "How do I know that you're not just lying to gain my sympathy? Huh? And even you weren't lying, what makes you different from all of the other hundreds of thousands of orphans out there?"

Her words stuck me, _and they struck hard. _She was right. What about _me _made me any different than everyone else who's suffered in their lives? I was just one person... And I didn't even need to bother with responding; even though it wasn't her sympathy I was after... I just wanted someone to speak to.

"No response? Well then, I guess you've realized that I'm right." She gloated.

There was a silent pause between the two of us, but it wasn't long before I boiled over.

"What is your problem?! What kind of sick pleasure do you get out of being right?! What's so satisfying about watching me break down, when I never even wanted you to feel bad for me?! Do you just enjoy when others are in pain? Because if that's the case, then you could've just left me to that Serperior... it would have been for the best anyways." I retaliated harshly. The Vulpix began to look like my words were upsetting her, but I didn't stop. "BUT NO! YOU SAVED ME, AND YOU EVEN HAD THE COURTESY TO WAIT HERE FOR WHO KNOWS HOW LONG UNTIL I WOKE UP _JUST _SO YOU COULD MAKE ME FEEL LIKE A LESSER BEING! ALL I WANTED WAS SOMEONE TO TALK TO; TO JUST NOT BE ALONE FOR ONCE! Is that so much to ask?.." I finished. By her expression of absolute misery, I assumed that I had gotten through her thick skull.

When a single tear blazed a trail down the side of her face; I could have sworn that I was beginning to hallucinate.

"THIS DOESN'T MAKE ME HAPPY IF THAT'S WHAT YOU THINK!" She began. "I just… have trouble trusting anybody with the way the world is today… All I've done in my pathetic life is help others, and the only thing I get in return is heartbreak, or a stab in the back… So now, even though I wish I could just ignore everything that goes around me, I can't. I couldn't let that overgrown snake take the life of someone who only crossed paths with it by sheer bad luck… It's not in my nature; and I couldn't just leave you there, unconscious, in the middle of the forest where you were at risk of being attacked again. That's why I decided to watch over you; at least until you woke up… then I would have left so I couldn't give you the option to betray me, even though I wasn't certain that you would… I just, can't be too careful with the way things are… you know?" She finished with a sigh. My anger had melted away when I realized she had likely gone through a lot of the same things I had.

I slowly lifted myself off of the ground; making sure to not put too much strain on my upper back and neck because of my fall. After rising to my feet, I calmly approached the Vulpix who backed up a few feet in defense. I smiled and lifted my hands to the sides of my head in order to show her that I wasn't a threat, and she stopped retreating. I quickly took a seat on the grass next to the small fire type.

"It's okay… I understand. You've probably had your fair share of dumb things happen in your life that've made you feel this way…" I announced upon sitting down. I then allowed myself to fall backwards and lay completely on my back.

"You have no idea…" She responded as she too laid down in the cool grass.

"Do you want to talk about it? I would understand if you didn't, so don't feel pressured." I proposed calmly.

The vixen took a deep breath. "No-no… It's okay, I'll talk. I mean, it's the least I can do to make up for being such a bitch… Well, where do I start? My old trainer might be a decent place…" She took a moment to plan out her words. "My old trainer… he was somewhat of a perfectionist… He didn't really care about how others were treated, or how _they_ felt as long as he got the job done, and got it done well. He was known pretty widely as a successful competitive battler, and a lot of people respected him for acting seemingly kind and caring when he battled… but he was fake! He only_ acted_ that way, when in reality he was rude, dishonest, and cruel. Especially to his Pokemon… He took part in an illegal breeding experiment called "Farming," which pretty much entailed forcing a Pokemon to breed and become impregnated by many other Pokemon in the hope that you could hatch a "_Competitively Superior Egg_". I'm the offspring of that experiment… My mother was forced into that inhuman act, and I was born a little while after. For awhile… my trainer had high hopes for me, and spent days on end training me to be the best I could; but I simply _wasn't _good enoughfor him… so he cast me aside, and separated me from my mother, the only person who's ever _truly_ cared for me... And because of him, I've been alone, and frowned upon for being different for almost my entire life… I'm just an outcast, _a failed experiment_... " The Vulpix began to tear up. "That's all I've ever been... No matter how much I tried to show who I really was, and that I really cared for others… it would just be blown right back into my face… And here I am, telling some _human_ who doesn't even know my name my entire life story." She finished before burying her muzzle under her paws.

I completely understood her angst towards the world. She had done nothing but her best, yet nobody ever acknowledged it. _She was more like myself then she knew…_

All I could think of doing to comfort the poor creature was showing her some _real _affection. I knew how much it helps when you feel like the world's against you… so I did just that. Putting a hand on both sides of her ribcage, I lifted her off the ground and brought her into my chest. At this point she was too tired and upset to fight it, so she simply flattened herself against me in a comforting embrace.

She almost instantly placed her head in between the curve of neck, and left shoulder; I then heard her sigh audibly.

"_Thank you…_" She mumbled softly.

"You're welcome… My name is Link, by the way."

"Clarity…" She replied. "My name is Clarity…"

There was a silent pause as she rested against me.

"Clarity?"I asked gingerly. "Would you like to come with me? Back to my home, that is…"

The Vulpix removed herself from my embrace, and stared at me with an expression of both genuine curiosity, and sadness. "But… I've been so harsh to you… Why would you feel obligated to let me come with you?.."

"Because I know you mean well… and I know that you really are a good person. You're just tired of being alone and misunderstood… in a sense you're just like me… So please, let me help you to trust again, Clarity." I responded warmly. The Pokemon's numerous tails began to sway back and forth happily.

"You're certain?.."

"_I'm certain._" I replied assuringly as I stood up. The Vulpix needed no more negotiating before quickly launching herself through the air and into my arms, nearly toppling me over.

And that was the beginning of our angry, _beautiful_ _friendship_…

**Well there you have it, everyone! For any of you who may be confused at this point, this chapter was more of an introduction that anything else. I simply used it to introduce my characters, and help you to understand how the two came to be. Almost like a really detailed flashback. But, needless to say, I hope you all enjoyed it. Make sure to check out my other story, **_**The Ice Chest Thief, **_**if you haven't already, and PLEASE leave a review. No matter how many times I say it; they are so important to me in comparison to getting a favorite or a follow. It lets me know that people care about my work enough to tell me how it made them feel. Whether it's good or bad, they still help me all the same to season my writing abilities into something more flavorful. So again, thank you all for reading, and I will see you in the next chapter my beautiful, BEAUTIFUL NERDS!**


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